Former Alouette Kenny Stafford takes trade to Roughriders in stride

Seven seasons in the CFL have taught Kenny Stafford one thing — never drop your guard and don’t be caught by surprise.“It’s the business of football. It’s not my first time being traded,” said Stafford, the newest Saskatchewan Roughrider. “At the end of the day, I’ve got a job to do. That’s to play football.“I’m glad they wanted me and showed they wanted me.”Stafford, who spent portions of two seasons with the Alouettes, playing 19 games, was traded by Edmonton to Saskatchewan Monday morning. He received the call at 9 and was in Regina 12 hours later, practising with his new team for the first time Tuesday.“In this business you should never be surprised,” the 29-year-old said. “We’ve seen crazier things happen. It’s not all bad. That chapter’s closed for me. This is my new chapter.”Stafford, 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, was in his third season with the Eskimos and was the team’s third-leading receiver through seven games. But Edmonton signed three free-agent receivers last winter and required a returner, which it received from Saskatchewan in Christion Jones.Stafford, who already has faced Montreal twice this season, including July 20, could play Friday night at Molson Stadium in place of Shaq Evans, who twisted his ankle this week in practice.“We felt we needed depth at receiver,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson, familiar with Stafford from their time in Edmonton. “He doesn’t know the offence as well as he needs to, but he’s familiar with the system. We think he fits well in the room. He’s a hard worker and intelligent.”In 70 career games, Stafford has produced 2,626 receiving yards while scoring 18 touchdowns. He’s coming off a career-high in 2018, having caught 55 passes for 781 yards in 17 games.Stafford said he’s not concerned about possibly being activated on three days of training. “At the end of the day, a slant’s a slant. It’s just called differently,” he said, shrugging.“I’ve been around the same concepts. I’ve played receiver in this league the past seven years. There’s not too many concepts I haven’t seen or heard. I’m a fairly smart player.“I’m blessed to still play football, to have a team that wants me.”Saskatchewan, which has won its last three games, will continue to sink or swim with quarterback Cody Fajardo. The organization gave the four-year veteran a vote of confidence with its recent trade of the frequently concussed Zach Collaros back to Toronto.“The vote of confidence and trust the organization has in me, there had to be something there,” Fajardo said. “I’ve just been looking for an opportunity to have an organization give me trust and be confident in me going on the field. To have that stamped last week has helped me feel a lot better that I’m doing something right.”hzurkowsky@postmedia.comtwitter.com/HerbZurkowsky1Related